On-off valves for high pressure fluids

ABSTRACT

An on-off valve that can operate between an open position and a closed position. The on-off valve has a valve body with a cylindrical valve cavity, an inlet, an outlet, and in an open position the inlet is in communication with the outlet. A cylindrical valve cartridge is sealably mounted within a chamber of the valve cavity and has a central cavity facing the valve cavity and a bore forming communication with an atmosphere external to the valve cartridge. A pin extension is movably mounted within the bore. A pin bushing and a pin seal are mounted within the central cavity, and an actuating pin is movably mounted at least partially within the central cavity. A valve poppet is slidably mounted within the valve cavity. In a closed position a first end portion of the valve poppet closes the first outlet, and in an open position the first end portion opens the first outlet. A bias element is mounted to exert a bias force to and urge the valve poppet against the valve cartridge. An actuator is mounted with respect to the valve body and operates the actuating pin between the open position and the closed position of the on-off valve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

On-off valves are important components to all fluid power systems. There are many types of known valves to choose when the fluid system pressure is low because there are many suitable valving mechanisms. When fluid pressure is very high, the selection of suitable valving mechanism is drastically reduced because of the stressful conditions imposed on the valving elements. For example, the water pressure involved in known industrial water jetting processes is frequently greater than 20,000 pounds per square inch (psi), and at such pressures the valving elements responsible for opening and closing a valve outlet port are under very high fluid-induced stresses and their selection is limited in terms of shape, size, design, material of construction, and operation. The selection of suitable known valves is limited to stem valves, needle valves, poppet valves, and ball valves. The conventional names of these valves denote the key valving element responsible for opening and closing the valve port. These valving elements are typically operated by an external force such as a hand force through a push or pull, or in turning, or a push/pull force provided by a pneumatic/hydraulic actuator. Thus, a typical on-off valve has valving elements partly situated inside a valve cavity and partly outside the valve cavity. The part situated inside the valve cavity is exposed to all detrimental conditions involved in controlling the flow of a high-pressure fluid.

One of the detrimental elements in high-pressure valving is the erosion of fluid on critical valving parts, namely the valve needle or stem and the mating valve port seat. A hand-operated needle valve generally has a threaded arrangement and a valve needle is moved slowly in and out of a tapered valve port so that the fluid starts to flow as soon as the seal is broken. This early flow is extremely erosive despite its low flow rate and can damage the valve needle or the valve seat, or both. Once damaged, the hand force required for closing the valve is increased, thus exacerbating the damage. It is known that a new needle valve can be damaged and need replacement parts after only one operation. It is also known that a slow valve should not be used for adjusting the flow rate of a high-pressure fluid, such as water that has relatively poor lubricity. It is extremely desirable to employ a fast on-off action with a suitable valving mechanism to open and close an outlet port to minimize the possibility of fluid erosion. If adjustment of flow rate is desired, it should be done by controlling the flow with multiple orifices positioned downstream from the valve. Also, the multiple orifices should open and close with fast action. These orifices are either opened or closed, and not in a position between.

To provide the desired motion in a valving element inside a valve cavity, a suitable arrangement in the external valving elements is required to handle the available force. The required external force is a function of the fluid pressure and the design of the valving element exposed to the fluid. For example, a straight valve stem of 0.250 inches in diameter is pushed out by the fluid with a force of 981 pounds at a pressure of 20,000 psi, 1963 pounds at 40,000 psi, and 3928 pounds at 80,000 psi. These are normal static pressures applied in known water jetting processes. The magnitude of the force exerted on the valve stem presents many problems in designing a suitable on-off valve. First, the valve stem must be strong enough and well supported to withstand the fluid induced forces. The valve stem must be properly sealed to prevent the fluid leakage. The provided external force must be strong and fast to move the valve stem and to seal the valve port properly and continuously. The impact between the valve stem and the valve seat should be kept low to avoid impact damage on the sealing surface. The opening of the valve outlet must also be fast to avoid erosion. All these conditions inside a valve cavity must be met in designing a suitable valve.

Another concern in valve design is the external force needed to operate the valving elements. The 981 pounds force required for operating a 0.250-inch-diameter valve stem is considered relatively high and beyond forces that can be provided by a human body. The required forces are considered high even with pneumatic actuators. The necessary size of the actuator and an air pressure needed to move the air piston should be considered. A bulky and heavy air actuator can present problems in many water jetting applications. As a result, efforts are directed to minimizing the diameter of the valve stem involved. Consequently, the diameter of the air piston is reduced and the required air pressure is also reduced. Unfortunately, reducing the diameter of the valve stem requires a corresponding reduction in the diameter of the valve port because the mating surface between the valve stem and a corresponding valve seat is typically in a coned arrangement. Thus, the outlet port is sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the valve stem. As a result, the flow capability of a high-pressure valve is often limited, unless the valve size is of no concern.

Referring to FIG. 1, a known basic design of a fast acting on-off valve commonly employed in a waterjet factory cutting processes is quite simple. The known design employs a spring-loaded air piston to impose a valve-closing force on a small valve stem which has a flat end outside the valve cavity and a tapered end inside the valve cavity, to mate with a concave valve outlet. The valve is normally closed by the spring force. To open the valve, compressed air of specified pressure enters into the actuator and to a side of an air piston opposite to the compression spring. The compressed air exerts a lifting force on the piston and moves it up against the compression spring, thus relieving the force on the valve stem. The pressurized water inside the valve cavity quickly pushes the valve stem upward, thus breaking contact with the valve seat and opening the outlet port. To close the valve again, the compressed air is vented from the actuator and the compression spring takes over again and pushes the valve stem down to seal the valve outlet.

FIG. 1 shows on-off valves of this basic design that are known in waterjet cutting operations at water pressures up to 80,000 psi. The valve stem has a typical diameter of 0.076 inches and is made of hardened stainless steel. The valve seat is also made of hardened stainless steel and has an outlet of 0.035 inches in diameter, in general. The valve stem is generally centered with the help of a machined slotted shoulder, as shown in FIG. 1. A polymeric seal assembly and a metal backup disk seal the outside diameter of the valve stem. This valve design has been known in the waterjet industry for many years but its shortcomings become more apparent as the water pressure steadily increases. The poor reliability of the known valve stem and its valve seat, and the seal assembly is one major problem. The small outlet port and its associated fluid turbulence are other problems. Downstream fluid turbulence generated by a known small port can cause quality deterioration in the fluid jet generated at a downstream nozzle.

Various attempts have been made to improve the capability of on-off valves used in water jetting processes. One of the more recent efforts is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,724 B2, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated into this specification by reference thereto, such as shown in FIG. 2. This known valve stem is divided into two parts, a floating cylindrical valve poppet completely immersed in the fluid and an actuating pin that engages the poppet in one end inside the valve cavity and the other end engages a force generator outside the valve cavity. The valve poppet has a central fluid passage that is advantageously utilized to control the flow of fluid between two cavities formed by the snugly fitted valve poppet inside a cylindrical valve cavity. By creating pressure imbalance between these two cavities with the actuating pin, the valve poppet is moved to seal or open the outlet port. The fluid force is advantageously used to move the valve poppet. This on-off valve represents a significant improvement over other prior conventional on-off valves and several shortcomings were eliminated. The floating valve poppet is significantly larger than the conventional valve stem and yet very easy to move with assistance from the pressurized fluid. A small valve poppet of this known on-off valve is typically 0.250 inches in diameter and its associated outlet port is generally 0.125 inches in diameter. Thus, there is no fluid erosion or turbulence. The valve poppet opens and closes the outlet by a water force, and thus the seating and lifting are both powerful but without impact. The actuating pin controls only the drain passage on the valve poppet and this passage is involved only in draining a very small amount of high-pressure fluid situated on top of the valve poppet. Thus, this valve would not have a fluid erosion problem. The external force required for sealing this drain passage on the valve poppet is considerably smaller than that of conventional valves. As a result, the overall reliability of this valve taught in the cited prior art is significantly improved. However, the external force required to move the actuating pin is still considerably higher than that available from a human hand. For example, the actuating pin taught by this prior art is typically 0.078 inches in diameter. This represents an external force of 96 pounds that is provided by a compression spring in order to close the valve at a water pressure of 20,000 psi, and a greater hand force is required to open the valve. This problem and a few other considerations prevented commercialization of this prior art despite its many good features.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, some of the most popular applications of high-pressure waterjet relate to material removal such as industrial cleaning, coating removal, concrete scarification, concrete repair and removal, and other geotechnical operations. In these processes, a waterjet is generally applied with a handheld lance having a hand-operated on-off valve. Currently, there are two types of valves in use in these lances. One is referred to as a “dump gun” and the other as a “shutoff gun”. In dump guns, the lance has two outlets, one that leads to the nozzle and the other that leads to a dump port. The hand-operated valve controls the dump port and is normally open. Water flows out the lance from both the nozzle and the dump port without much force. When the lance in put to work, the operator closes the dump port and the water pressure inside the valve cavity increases to the designed operating pressure. A powerful waterjet is then issued at the nozzle. The operator must keep the dump port closed to do the water jetting work and this task can be difficult in view of the design of the valve. The dump port is generally relatively large and the valve stem must also be relatively large. Thus, the sealing surface between the valve stem and the valve seat is very delicate and critical. Otherwise, the required hand force is unmanageable. The valve sealing must be positive and without leakage, otherwise high-pressure water gets into the sealing surface and creates powerful forces against the valve stem. This dump valve has one advantage that water pressure inside the valve cavity is generally low when the dump gun is in a standby mode so that no great force is needed to initiate the valve closing. Keeping the dump port closed is troublesome. Despite this well known shortcoming, dump guns are in wide use today because of the absence of alternatives.

Referring to FIG. 4, the other type of popular known handheld waterjet lance is the shutoff gun. This type of lance has only one outlet port and is normally closed by spring force acting on a slim valve stem and is opened by a hand force acting on a trigger lever to force back the spring. A cam or piston transfers the force from the lever to the spring. Similar to an air-operated on-off valve discussed earlier, the external force required to open this type of lance valve is a function of the fluid pressure and the diameter of the valve stem involved. As the fluid pressure increases, the practicality of this type of valve decreases because the force requirement exceeds what the human hand can provide, despite the desirability of this type of valves. With the increased concern of conservation and scarcity of water in many parts of the world, a shutoff gun is preferred.

There are other types of high-pressure on-off valves that are desirable if they can be operated by hand. A fast acting toggle valve, either momentary or definite, is one of these valves that could be particularly useful in laboratories and pilot operations, and can serve as a safety drain valve. Simple spring operated pressure regulating valves are highly desirable if they are sensitive to the fluid pressure involved but with the present valve technology, they are not available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of this invention to provide on-off valves that reduce or eliminate the shortcomings identified earlier. It is another object of this invention to provide on-off valves that are particularly useful in known high-pressure water jetting processes. This invention provides improved aspects of valve performance, including pressure capability, flow capability, reliability, ease of operation, ease of maintenance, and versatility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention is explained in greater detail below in view of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a fast acting on-off valve according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of an on-off valve having a floating cylindrical valve poppet, according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a handheld lance having a hand-operated on-off valve for generating a high-pressure waterjet, according to the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a handheld lance having a hand-operated on-off valve, also according to the prior art;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a spring-to-close air-to-open on-off valve, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a valve assembly having a valve poppet and a valve cartridge, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a valve assembly similar to the valve assembly shown in FIG. 6 but with a different valve poppet assembly;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a valve cartridge assembly similar to but different from the valve assembly shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a valve assembly having a valve cartridge similar to but different from the valve cartridge as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of an on-off valve assembly, according to another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a valve assembly, according to another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of an on-off valve assembly, according to another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a valve cartridge that can be used with the on-off valve as shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a valve cartridge having two tapered ends, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of a hand-operated on-off valve used with a dump gun, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of a shutoff gun, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of a hand-operated toggle valve, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 18 is a partial cross-sectional view of an on-off valve that can be operated with a solenoid, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a fluid pressure intensifier, according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure regulating valve, according to one embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a pressure regulating valve system, according to one embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The apparatus and method of this invention successfully widens the participation of the pressurized fluid in operating an on-off valve. The water-induced force inside the valve cavity is advantageously utilized in both opening and closing the valve port, and in keeping the valve port opened or closed. As a result, the required external force in operating the valve is kept at a relatively low level, thus improving many aspects of valve performance and versatility. Referring to FIG. 5, one embodiment of this invention is a spring-to-close-air-to-open on-off valve of significantly improved performance as compared to known on-off valves. Valve assembly 100 comprises two basic parts, a valve cylinder assembly 101 and an air actuator assembly 131 connected together by a threaded collar arrangement that allows the two parts to be separated or connected quickly, such as for easy maintenance. The valve cylinder 101 has a side fluid inlet 102, a bottom fluid outlet 103, a central cylindrical valve cavity 104 that contains or houses a valve poppet 105, a poppet spring 106, a valve cartridge 107 and a valve inlet adapter 108 for use with a cylindrical valve cylinder. The actuator assembly comprises an actuator cylinder 131, an upper end cap 132, an air piston 133 with a diametrical seal 134, a piston rod 135, a compression spring 136, an air inlet 137, a cylinder coupler 138 with a seal 139, and a coupling collar 140. The air actuator assembly supplies the necessary force to move the piston rod, which transfers this force to the valve cartridge and to the valve poppet. The actuator assembly has a conventional setup in which a loaded compression spring 136 exerts a constant force on the air piston 133 and the piston rod 135 and ultimately to the valve poppet 105 to keep the outlet port closed. When compressed air of a specified pressure enters into the actuator cavity below the air piston 133 it pushes the piston upward to relieve the spring force on the valve poppet. The fluid force inside the valve cavity 104 will then push up the valve poppet 105 and open the outlet port.

Referring to FIG. 6, which shows a more detailed view of valving parts of the valve assembly 100, the valve poppet 105 and the valve cartridge 107 are separate parts. The valve poppet 105 can be a monolithic cylindrical body made of hardened stainless steel or an assembly of three connecting parts, including a larger upper shoulder 105, a smaller lower poppet end 110 and a middle ball check valve 111. There is a central fluid passage 109 in both upper poppet shoulder 105 and the lower poppet end 110. The poppet spring 106 sits around the poppet end 110 and urges the poppet assembly 105 to move up. The valve cartridge assembly 107 has a tapered lower end 112 that mates with the valve cavity 122 to form a fluid-tight seal, a flat other end 113 extended beyond the valve cylinder 101, a centrally situated actuating pin 114 having a fluid end 115 in contact with the poppet shoulder 105 and an intimate fit with the central fluid passage 109 and a flat end 116 in contact with a pin extension 117, a polymeric pin seal 118, and a pin bushing 119. The valve actuating pin 114 and its seal 118, the support pin bushing 119, and the pin extension 117 are all situated in a central cavity 120, of the valve cartridge 107. The pin extension 117 is trapped inside the central cavity 120 with one end in contact with the actuating pin 114 and with the other end 121 extended outward. In its assembled form, the valve assembly 100 has the pin extension end 121 in contact with the piston rod 135 of the air actuator 131. The spring force from the actuator is passed onto the poppet end 110 through the piston rod 135, the pin extension 117, and the actuating pin 114. In conventional valves, there is generally only one rod that serves multiple roles of the piston rod, the actuating pin, and the valve stem. By dividing this rod into three separate segments, the required valve actuating force is significantly reduced because the only part exposed to the high-pressure fluid is the actuating pin 114, which can be made with special materials, special precision, special support, and with a minimal diameter. The valve poppet 105 fits inside the valve cavity snugly but is free to slide up and down for a short distance and divides the valve cavity into an upper cavity 122 and a lower cavity 104. In a normal closed state, the high-pressure fluid fills both cavities 122 and 104. Because the valve poppet 105 has a tapered end 124 that is mated with the tapered outlet port 103, the surface areas of the valve poppet 105 exposed to the fluid at the two ends are different. The end in the cavity 122 has a greater area exposed to the fluid than the end 124 in the cavity 104. Thus, the fluid exerts a significant net force on the valve poppet 105 to close the valve outlet 103. The fluid passage 109 in the center of the valve poppet 105 is closed by the actuating pin 114 with the external spring force. At this stage, the valve 100 is closed firmly with assistance from the fluid inside the valve cavity. The fluid force is relatively strong and can easily reach several hundred pounds even with a relatively small valve poppet and outlet port. For example, if the poppet has a diameter of 0.250 inches and the outlet port is 0.125 inches in diameter, the valve seating force is 245 pounds at a fluid pressure of 20,000 psi. A force of this magnitude cannot be supplied easily with an external spring or an actuator.

Still referring to FIG. 6, when the spring force on the actuating pin 114 is lifted, the pressurized fluid in the cavity 122 lifts up the actuating pin 114, thus exposing the passage 109 and causing the fluid in the cavity 122 to flow out rapidly. The check valve 111 is open in that direction. Thus, the cavity 122 loses the fluid pressure and the valve poppet 105 rapidly moves up to open the valve outlet port. The valve assembly 100 is now open and the high-pressure fluid flows in and out. The valve poppet 105 stays up with the help of spring 106 as the fluid pressure across the valve poppet 105 is equalized. The actuating pin 114 stays retracted as the fluid exerts a force to push it up to form a stable open position as long as the actuating pin 114 stays retracted. The check valve 111 in a two-part poppet construction can prevent the high-pressure fluid from entering into the cavity 122 prematurely and maintain the pressure imbalance across the valve poppet 105 a bit longer to assure complete poppet movement. By having the check valve 111, the fluid has to move around the valve poppet 105 and the flow velocity is slowed with the close fit of the valve poppet inside the cavity 104. To close the valve 100, the spring force from the actuator 131 is resumed and the actuating pin 114 is again pushed down to move the valve poppet 105 downward to close the outlet port 103.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of this invention in which the valve assembly 200, which is similar to the valve assembly 100 except in the valve poppet assembly. In the valve 200, the valve actuator can be any suitable actuator and can be the actuator assembly 131 used in the valve assembly 100. In the valve assembly 200, all valving elements are integrated into one valve cartridge 210 that sits alone inside the valve cavity 204. This valve cartridge 210 has a tapered outlet end 224 in contact with the valve outlet port 203 and has a flat end 213 in contact with the air actuator through a suitable coupler, such as the coupler 138 in the valve 100. The valve cartridge 210 can be easily removed from the valve cavity by disconnecting an air actuator locking collar 140. The cartridge end 213 has screwdriver slots to facilitate the removal. Thus, the necessary maintenance of the valve 200 is reduced to the replacement of the valve cartridge 210, which can be a disposable item.

Referring to FIG. 8, the valve cartridge 210 contains essentially the same components as that in the valve 100 except that these components are grouped inside a sealed cylindrical capsule. The capsule is made of a cartridge cylinder 210 and an end plug 207. The cartridge cylinder 210 has a side fluid inlet 211, an end fluid outlet 212, a cavity 223 that contains a snugly fitted valve poppet 205, which can be a monolithic one-piece poppet with a central fluid passage 209 or a 2-part poppet with a ball check valve 225, similar to that of the valve 100, and a poppet spring 206. The check valve 225 allows fluid flow only in the direction from the cavity 222 to the outlet 212. The cartridge end plug 207 has a central cavity 220 fitted with the valve actuating pin 214, the pin extension 217, the pin seal 218 and the pin bushing 219. The actuating pin 214 has one end 215 in contact with the central fluid passage 209 of the valve poppet 205 and the other end 216 in contact with the pin extension 217. The pin extension 217 has an other end 221 extended outside the valve cartridge end plug 207 through an end hole 227. The valve cartridge 210 can have a tapered outside diameter like that shown in the valve 100 to seal off the fluid around the cartridge or an outside diameter of the seal assembly 226 for the same purpose. The operation of the valve cartridge 210 is essentially identical to that of the valve 100 except that the actuating pin 214 is now inside this cartridge and all parts are made with high precision and positioned to provide an exact movement in opening and closing the outlet 212. The actuating pin 214 can be made with a minimal diameter and still be well supported and centered inside the valve cartridge. The pin extension 217 serves the purpose of trapping the actuating pin 214 inside the cartridge and of connecting it to the external spring force. The valve cartridge 210 is designed for top insertion into the valve assembly 200. However, in some valves the valve cartridge is preferably inserted into a valve cavity from the front or the bottom of a valve cylinder or a valve body and is preferably used without an outside-diameter seal assembly. In such cases, the valve cartridge 310 can be provided according to this invention, as shown in FIG. 9. The valve cartridge 310 is essentially the same as the valve cartridge 210 except that the cartridge end plug 307 has a tapered end 313 and there is no outside-diameter seal assembly. By having two tapered ends, the valve cartridge 310 can be installed in a valve cavity with a minimal need for seals, as shown in other valve assemblies of this invention. This practice improves the maintenance of the valve assembly.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of this invention as an on-off valve assembly that has a different way of moving the valving elements and can have further advantages in minimizing the external force required to operate the valve. The valve assembly 400 again comprises two major parts, an upper valve actuator assembly 430 and a lower valve cylinder assembly 401. The valve actuator can be any suitable actuator or the actuator assembly 131 used in the valve assembly 100 of this invention. The valve cylinder assembly 401 has a side fluid inlet 402, an end fluid outlet 403, a cylindrical outlet valve cavity 404 associated with the outlet 403 and a cylindrical cocking cavity 405 at the opposite end connected by a passage 406, a valve poppet 407 straddling across the two cavities, an end plug 408 that seals the cocking cavity 405, a spacer spring 409 around the valve poppet 407, and a bushing/seal assembly 410 around the poppet 407 in the cavity 404. The end plug 408 has a tapered end 412 that seals the cavity 405 and a flat end 413 extended beyond the valve cylinder 401 to abut the actuator coupler 138. The end plug 408 has a centrally situated valve actuating pin 414 and a seal assembly 415 and has a construction similar to that of the end plug 107 of the valve assembly 100.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment, a valve assembly 400 which has a valve poppet 407 and in a position in the valve cavity 404. The valve poppet 407 has a shoulder 416 and a shoulder seal assembly 417 that divide the valve cavity into two parts, an upper cavity 405 and a lower cavity 418 that has a small bleed hole 419 leading to the exterior of the valve cylinder 401. This arrangement assures that the cross-sectional area of the poppet shoulder 416 remains larger than that of the poppet 407 inside the cavity 404. When a pressurized fluid enters into both the cavity 404 and the cavity 405, the fluid force exerting on the valve poppet 407 brings it down to close the valve outlet 403. The seal assembly 416 on the poppet shoulder 415 prevents the fluid flow across the shoulder to the cavity 418. Any fluid that leaks into the cavity 418 will be bled out of the valve assembly 400. The poppet assembly 407 allows the fluid to be manipulated in and out of the cavity 405 to thus move the poppet 407 up and down to open and close the valve outlet. The actuating pin 414 is used to transmit an outside force from the piston rod 135 to the poppet shuttle 420. The push-pull action of this outside force causes the high-pressure fluid to flow in and out of the cavity 405, which in turn will cause the valve poppet 407 to close and open the valve outlet 403.

Still referring to FIG. 11, the valve poppet 407 comprises a poppet cylinder 407, a poppet shoulder 416, an end plug 426, a poppet shuttle 420 with a central fluid passage 423, a shuttle spring 425, a shuttle seal assembly 424, and a ball check valve 411. The poppet cylinder 407 has a central cavity 430 housing the shuttle 420, the shuttle spring 420 and the shuttle seal 424. The cavity 430 is sealed on one end by the poppet shoulder 416 and the other end by the end plug 426. The poppet shoulder 416 has a central hole 431 sized to accommodate one end 422 of the poppet shuttle 420 allowing it to slide. The other end 421 of the poppet shuttle 420 is in contact with the spring 425, the seal 424, and is in contact with a fluid passage 432 situated at the end of the poppet cylinder 407 that abuts the end plug 426. The end plug 426 has a central cavity 427 and an outlet 428. The cavity 427 contains or houses a ball check valve 411 that allows fluid to flow only from the passage 432 to the passage 428. The poppet shuttle 420 has a shoulder 420 in the middle and two ends of smaller diameters, and has a passage 423 through its entire length. The poppet spring 425 abuts the poppet shoulder 420 and urges it to stay up against the poppet shoulder 416 and to seal the space around the passage 431 and the shuttle end 422. This space around the shuttle end 422 and the poppet shoulder 416 allows fluid to pass from the cavity 430 to the cavity 405 when the shuttle shoulder 420 is not abutting the poppet shoulder 416. The poppet cylinder 407 has the bleed hole 429 linking the cavity 430 to an exterior of the poppet cylinder 407.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, in an assembled form, the valve assembly 400 is in a closed form as the external spring force pushes down the actuator piston, the piston rod, the actuating pin 414, and the poppet shuttle 420. The actuating pin 414 has an end 433 that engages the poppet shuttle 420. When the actuating pin 414 pushes down the poppet shuttle 420, the shuttle passage 423 is closed. At the same time, the fluid passage around the poppet end 422 in the passage 431 is open. When a pressurized fluid flows into the cavity 404 of the valve assembly 400, it flows into the poppet cavity 430 and into the cavity 405, thus exerting a force on the poppet shoulder 416 and pushes the valve poppet 407 down to close the valve outlet 403. Because of the difference in cross-sectional area of the poppet shoulder 416 and the poppet cylinder 407, the fluid induced force is quite strong and keeps the valve poppet 407 down and keeps the valve 400 closed. To open the valve 400, one needs only to withdraw the external force on the actuating pin 414 and the fluid in the cavity 405 will quickly lose its pressure and the poppet 407 will quickly move up to open the valve outlet 403. The poppet shuttle 420 will move up to abut the poppet shoulder 416 and to close the passage 431. In this open position, pressurized fluid in the cavity 404 cannot flow into the cavity 405 because of the check valve 411 and the poppet seal/bushing assembly 410. Thus, the cavity 405 has no high-pressure fluid and the actuating pin 414 is not under fluid pressure. This fact is important in initiating closure of the valve assembly 400 because a spring force large enough to push down the poppet shuttle 420 is able to initiate the valve closure. After that, fluid force will provide enough force to keep the valve 400 closed. The ease of valve closure in the valve assembly 400 of this invention separates it from other available on-off valves. Reviewing the design of this valve of this invention will show that success of the valve assembly 400 can depend on the design of the valve poppet 407 and on the valve shuttle 420, in particular. The valve shuttle 420 is preferably made with a hard material and with high precision in its dimensions so that it can be moved inside the poppet cavity 430 with a small external force, even under a high fluid pressure.

Referring to FIG. 12, a further embodiment of this invention is shown by the valve assembly 500 that is different from the valve assembly 400 in that all valving elements are now contained inside a valve cartridge 510 in a manner similar to that used in the valve assembly 200. The valve assembly 500 has the valve cylinder 501 that has a central cylindrical cavity 504, which is open in the actuator end and tapered in the outlet end, and has a side inlet 502 and an end outlet 503. The valve cartridge 510 sits inside the valve cavity 504 with its tapered end 524 abutting the outlet 503 and its flat end 513 abutting an actuator coupler 540. The actuator assembly 530 can be any suitable actuator or the actuator assembly 130 used in the valve assembly 100. The valve cylinder 501 can also be similar to the valve cylinder 101 used in the valve assembly 100. In such case, only the valve cartridge 510 is different.

Referring to FIG. 13, the valve cartridge 510 used in the valve assembly 500 is an integrated form of valving elements found in the valve assembly 400. In the valve 500, a 3-part sealed cartridge comprises a cartridge cylinder 510, an outlet end plug 524, and an actuator end plug 508. The three cartridge parts are sealed together to form the cavity 504 at the outlet end and the cavity 505 at the actuator end. The valve poppet 507 has a shoulder end 516 in the cavity 505 and an outlet end 524 in the cavity 504. The valve cartridge 510 also contains all other crucial valving elements, such as an actuating pin 514, a pin seal assembly 515, a poppet seal/bushing assembly 520, and a spacer spring 509. The poppet shoulder 516 has an outside-diameter seal assembly 517 that divides the cavity 505 into two parts, an upper cocking cavity 505 and a lower ambient cavity 518. A bleed hole 519 forms communication between the cavity 518 and the ambient. When the cartridge 510 is assembled inside the valve 500, a system fluid flows into this valve from the inlet 502 into the valve cavity 504 and then flows into the valve cartridge 510 through the cartridge inlet 511 and into the valve poppet 507. The system fluid can flow out of the cartridge 510 through the outlet 512 if the valve poppet 507 is in an up position. Otherwise, the fluid flow is stopped inside the cartridge cavity 504 if the valve poppet 507 is in a down position.

Referring to FIG. 14, the valve cartridge 510 of this invention can be made to have two tapered ends to facilitate its use in certain applications. The result is the valve cartridge 610 has a tapered actuator end plug 613. The valve cartridge 610 can have an outside-diameter seal assembly, such as in the case of the valve cartridge 510 or a tapered cartridge cylinder 610 to isolate the bleed hole 619 from the system fluid when the valve cartridge 610 is installed inside a valve cylinder. There are other ways to shape the valve cartridges of this invention to suit the design of a nozzle assembly, which is not critical to the operation of an on-off valve. As indicated earlier, the critical part is the design of the valving elements and how these elements work together. The two basic valving schemes and the cartridge approach of this invention can provide unique features to the valves. The cartridge approach simplifies the construction of on-off valves for serving different purposes.

FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment of this invention, a hand operated on-off valve installed in a so-called dump gun that is popular in known water jetting operations. The valve assembly 700 is similar to the prior art shown in FIG. 3 except that the valve assembly 700 of this invention uses a valve cartridge of this invention. Both the valve cartridge 310 and the valve cartridge 610 can be advantageously used in the valve assembly 700. The valve assembly 700 comprises two basic parts, a valve body assembly 701 and a hand actuator assembly 730 tied together, such as by bolts. The valve body assembly comprises a valve body 701 having a threaded-on fluid inlet tube 702, a fluid inlet passage 703, a fluid outlet passage 704, a valve cartridge cavity 705, a valve cartridge 710, a dump tube 707, and a main tube 709. The actuator assembly 730 can be in various forms because the hand force can be applied through various pivoted-lever devices or approaches. In the valve assembly 700 of this invention, the actuator assembly 300 comprises an actuator housing 730 equipped with cavities to accommodate a pivoted hand trigger lever 734, an actuating piston 733 with a piston rod 735, a piston return spring 736, a hand grip 738, and mounting bolts. The valve assembly 700 can also have an inlet adapter 739, a trigger guard 740, and a mounting bolt 741. The selected valve cartridge 710 is pushed into the dump cavity 705 with the actuator end 713 first. The dump cavity 705 has a tapered end to mate with the cartridge end 713 to form a fluid-tight seal and has a central hole to allow the actuating pin 714 of the cartridge 710 to make contact with the actuator piston rod 735 when necessary. A dump tube 707 equipped with a proper seal assembly 708 and a tapered fluid inlet is threaded into the dump cavity 705 to engage the cartridge outlet end 724 to form a fluid-tight seal. The valve cartridge 710 is normally open as the actuator piston 733 is pushed away by the return spring 735 from the valve body 701. When a pressurized fluid enters into the valve assembly 700, it flows out from both the dump tube 707 and the main tube 709 without much force because both valve outlets are wide open. At this point, the valve assembly 700 is at a standby stage. When a water jetting task is to be performed, the operator applies a hand force to pull the trigger lever 734 toward the handle 738. This action causes the actuator piston to move toward the valve body 701 and the actuator piston rod 735 engages the actuating pin 714 of the valve cartridge 710 and pushes it forward. The end result is the closure of the dump port 707. Thus, the system fluid is routed to the main tube 709 to generate the desired waterjet at the nozzle, which is generally situated or positioned at an end of the tube 709. To maintain the waterjet pressure, the hand force on the trigger lever 734 is continued. When the water jetting is to be stopped, the operator simply lets go of the trigger lever 734 and the valve cartridge 710 opens again to reduce the fluid pressure inside the valve. The hand force required for closing the valve cartridge 710 should ideally be minimized to avoid hand fatigue of the operator.

One object of this invention is to reduce hand fatigue for the operator. In fact, the hand force required to close the valve cartridge 710 can be as little as a couple of pounds at a water pressure of 40,000 psi if the valve cartridge 610 is used, which cannot be accomplished with conventional dump guns.

FIG. 16 shows a further embodiment of this invention, a shutoff gun that can be advantageously used in current water jetting operations. The shutoff gun can be used to shut off water flow at the gun completely and thus unloading or bypassing the pressurized water inside the hose can be performed somewhere else. The shutoff gun 800 is similar in construction to the dump gun assembly 700 shown in FIG. 15 except that there is only one outlet tube and the valve actuator employs a different actuating mechanism. The shutoff gun 800 has a valve body 801, a hand actuator assembly 830 attached to the valve body 801 by bolts, and a handle 842 attached to the actuator assembly 830, such as also by bolts. An actuator assembly 830 comprises a body 830, trigger lever 831 with an end pivot 832, a central through-chamber 833 housing a front spring 834, a spring piston 835, a back spring 836, a back spring piston 837, a threaded set screw 838 and a pin 839. A back spring tension adjustment bolt 840 is situated in the handle 838 and abuts the back spring 836. The trigger lever 831 sits or is positioned between the front spring piston 835 and the back spring piston 837 and has a through hole 841 to accommodate the tension adjustment pin 839. The trigger lever 831 is normally pushed toward the valve body 801 by the back spring 836 into a stopped vertical position. The back spring 836 exerts a known force on the front spring piston 835 through the tension adjustment pin 839. The front spring piston 835 exerts a known force on the front spring 833, which in turn sends the force to the valve actuating pin 814 of the valve cartridge 810 to close the valve outlet.

Still referring to FIG. 16, the front spring 834 and its piston 835 can be used to create a constant force on the valve actuating pin 814 to engage itself at all times to the valve poppet inside the valve cartridge 810 so that the high-pressure water is kept out of the valve poppet even when the valve poppet is pushed away from the valve outlet by the pressurized water. Keeping the high-pressure water out of the poppet results in the valve actuating pin inside the valve cartridge 810 not always being confronted by the high-pressure water. Thus, the external force required to close the valve is reduced. In other words, the spring force from the back spring 836 is reduced. One result is easing the hand fatigue of the operator.

Still referring to FIG. 16, the shutoff gun 800 is normally closed as the back spring 836 pushes the trigger lever 831 to a neutral position and the front spring 834 exerts a necessary force on the valve actuating pin 814 to push the valve poppet inside the valve cartridge to close the valve outlet port. Thus, there will be no water flow in the outlet tube. To open the shutoff gun assembly 800, the trigger lever 831 is pulled toward the handle 842 until stopped by the stopper 843. This action compresses the back spring 836 and also lessens or reduces the tension of the front spring 834 and thus the force on the valve actuating pin 814. The reduction in the force on the valve actuating pin 814 is enough to cause the valve poppet to move away from the valve outlet port to open the outlet of the shutoff gun. At this point, the tension in the front spring 834 is reduced but not eliminated and thus allows the valve actuating pin 814 to be engaged to the valve poppet inside the valve cartridge. This feature is important in minimizing the hand force required for operating the shutoff gun assembly 800. The hand force on the trigger lever can be maintained to continue water jetting and letting go of the trigger lever 831 will again shutoff the valve. In this operation, the hand force required to keep the valve open is a function of the back spring involved, which in turn is a function of the force required to close the valve. In a conventional shutoff gun, the required spring force is relatively high at high water pressures despite the use of a very slim valve stem, as discussed previously. In the shutoff gun assembly 800 of this invention, the situation is very different and a shutoff gun with a robust actuating pin and a relatively large outlet port is possible, without causing hand fatigue. This is particularly true if the valve cartridge 610 is used in the shutoff gun assembly 800 because a small force is needed for initiating valve closure as the actuating pin is not exposed to relatively high-pressure water at that moment. To keep the valve closed also needs no large external force because of assistance from the water. Thus, the shutoff gun assembly 800 is well suited for use in water jetting despite the fact that most conventional pumps in water jetting are crankshaft pumps that do not allow the output to be shutoff. A fast-actuating bypass valve can be used to shutoff guns. However, on-off valves of this invention can be advantageously used as a pressure-regulating valve, as later discussed.

FIG. 17 shows a still further embodiment of this invention as a hand operated toggle valve 900. A toggle valve is a hand valve that uses a lever to open and close a valve. It can be a momentary or a stable valve. Such valves are popular in low-pressure operations much like the toggle switches in electrical systems. At very high fluid pressures, toggle valves disappeared. It is one object of this invention to employ toggle valves. The valve assembly 900 of this invention can be momentary or stable, such as momentary open or momentary close, depending on the design of the cam mechanism. The valve assembly 900 shown in FIG. 17 is a normally closed hand-to-open momentary valve. The valve 900 comprises of a valve cylinder assembly 910 and an actuator assembly 930. The valve cylinder assembly 901 is similar or identical to the valve cylinder assembly 201. The actuator assembly 930 has a spring cylinder 931 exerting a constant force on the piston 933 and the piston rod 935, and to the actuating pin of the valve cartridge 210 inside the valve cavity. The spring cylinder 931 has a cam adapter 934 that provides a necessary force to push the piston 933 up against the valve-closure spring 936 in order to relieve the force on the valve cartridge 201. A hand lever 941 connected to the pivotable cam 937 can be used in this invention, for this task. When hand lever 941 is pulled down, the cam 937 lifts the piston 933. A small lift, such as 0.125 inches is sufficient to open the valve. A lever of 3 to 4 inches on the valve 900 can handle water at pressures up to 40,000 psi. If a momentary closed valve is desired, this cam mechanism can be mounted on top of the actuator cylinder 931. If a stable on-off toggle valve is desired, the cam can be shaped to provide a stable open or close position and yet can still be operated by hand. This ease of operation in high-pressure on-off valves is possible with the minimal external force required to operate on-off valves of this invention.

FIG. 18 shows a still further embodiment of this invention as an on-off valve that can be operated with an electrical solenoid and usable at very high fluid pressures. Because solenoids are not known to generate strong force at ordinary voltages and amperages, a solenoid-operated high-pressure on-off valve has not been available or used in water jetting processes. Because of the much reduced valve actuating force, an ordinary solenoid can be used in conjunction with a force-enhancing mechanism such as the cantilever employed in the valve assembly 900 of this invention. The valve assembly 1000 of this invention places a solenoid adapter 1042 on top of an actuator cylinder 931 and a selected electrical solenoid 1043 is employed to provide the necessary push force against a lever 1041, which is connected to a pivotal cam 1037. The cam arrangement is similar to that of the valve assembly 900. The valve 1000 is normally closed by spring force from the actuator 1030. When this valve needs to be opened, the solenoid 1043 is energized and a pushing force is generated in the solenoid piston 1044, resulting in the pivoting movement of the lever 1041. This movement is translated into a lifting force on the piston 1033, thus relieving the force on the actuating pin of the valve cartridge 1010 opening the valve. A solenoid capable of generating 20 to 40 ounces of force and a travel of 0.125 inches or more can be advantageously used in constructing the valve assembly 1000 of this invention.

FIG. 19 shows that one alternative to a cantilever force enhancement is a fluid pressure intensification that can also be used in constructing a solenoid-operated high-pressure on-off valve. The valve assembly 1100 of this invention can employ an electrical solenoid 1143 mounted directly on top of a spring actuator cylinder 1131. Inside the cylinder there is a compression spring 1136 exerting a predetermined force on an actuator piston 1133 with a piston seal 1134. The piston 1133 has an attached upper central cylinder 1144 with a cylindrical central cavity 1145 fitted with a solenoid piston rod 1146 and a rod seal 1147. The cavity 1145 is connected to the actuator cylinder cavity 1148 below the piston 1133. The piston rod 1135 is situated in the center of cavity 1148, similar to other previously described actuators of this invention. The solenoid piston rod 1146 is attached to the solenoid piston 1149 and these two parts move together. The cavities 1145 and 1148 are filled with a selected hydraulic fluid to a pressure in balance with the force from the spring 1136. In an assembled form, the spring 1136 applies a predetermined force on the actuating pin 1114 of the valve cartridge 1110 to close a valve outlet. To open the valve outlet, the solenoid 1143 is energized and the solenoid piston 1149 moves down and exerts a force on the fluid inside the cavity 1145, thus increasing the fluid pressure. The increased fluid pressure is transmitted to the fluid inside cavity 1148, thus creating a force pushing the piston 1133 upward. The lifted piston 1133 relieves the force of the valve cartridge 1110, thus opening the valve outlet. By a difference in cross-sectional area of the solenoid piston rod 1146 and the actuator piston 1133, the solenoid force is significantly enhanced. An area ratio determines the force enhancement.

A still further embodiment of this invention is a pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 20. Because of its relatively small size, high flow capability, high precision, high pressure capability, and high pressure sensitivity, the on-off valve of this invention can be used advantageously in fluid pressure regulating applications, particularly at high fluid pressures. By employing the valve cartridges of this invention, the regulating valves can be quite simple in construction, ideally suited for use in water jetting with multiple jetting lances or nozzles. A pressure relating valve is an on-off valve that is normally closed and is quickly open at a predetermined pressure. Once opened, it lets go or discharges with a predetermined amount of fluid, for example to return the fluid pressure inside the valve cavity back to a predetermined level. In water jetting with multiple hand-operated shutoff guns, the operators will operate their guns independently, thus affecting the fluid pressure in a supply hose. If all guns are open, there must be sufficient water in the supply hose to maintain the pressure. Likewise, if all guns are closed, the water inside the hose must have a dump port for water to be dumped to avoid over pressurization. Thus, a good pressure regulating valve is a necessary component in water jetting operations. If there is only one gun, one regulating valve will suffice. If there are four guns, four or more regulating valves can be needed to regulate the water pressure in the system.

Still referring to FIG. 20, the regulating valve assembly 1200 of this invention comprises a valve cylinder 1201 integrated with the actuator cylinder 1231, a catcher cylinder 1220, and a drain plug 1223. The valve actuator cylinder 1231 has a threaded-on end cap 1232, the valve closure spring 1236, the spring piston 1233, the piston rod 1235, and a spring spacer disk 1237. The cylinder cap 1232 is threaded on to compress the spring 1236 to a predetermined compression so as to apply a predetermined force on the piston 1233 so that in an assembled form this spring force is transmitted to the actuating pin 1214 of the valve cartridge 1210 to keep the cartridge outlet closed. This spring force can be adjusted by changing the spring spacer 1237 without changing the spring. A thicker spacer disk 1237 will increase the spring force. The valve cartridge 1210 is positioned inside a valve cavity 1204, which is connected to the fluid inlet 1202. The fluid inlet 1202 can also be connected to outlets leading to nozzles or individual jetting lances. The outlet end 1211 of the valve cartridge 1210 abuts the catcher cylinder 1220 and is connected to a nozzle cone 1221 in which a selected nozzle orifice is mounted. This nozzle orifice is sized to match the nozzle size of a jetting lance, or sized according to some other predetermined formula. Below this nozzle cone is a catcher tube 1222 with a central cavity connected to a drain plug 1223 and the drain passage 1224. The catcher tube 1222 catches fluid coming out of the nozzle cone 1221 and dissipates its energy. Therefore, the catcher tube is made of very hard materials and is capable of breaking up the fluid jet coming out of the nozzle cone 1221.

When a pressurized system fluid flows into the valve 1200 of this invention from a pump, it also flows to a nozzle or jetting lance to do work. The valve 1200 can be closed to maintain a constant system pressure. When the jetting nozzle is closed, the valve 1200 must quickly open to let go of a certain amount of fluid in the system and to restore the fluid pressure back to a predetermined level. The valve cartridges will automatically open or close according to the fluctuations of fluid pressure in the system and will try to maintain the preset level. This fluid pressure compensating operation should be performed inside a pump such as in the case of fluid pressure intensifier pumps. In such pumps, the hydraulic fluid is equipped with a pressure compensating valve that automatically monitors the load and adjusts the oil flow rate. Crankshaft pumps commonly used in conventional water jetting processes do not have this capability. Therefore, an external pressure sensing unloading valve is required and can be accomplished with the valve assembly 1200 of this invention.

FIG. 21 shows a still further embodiment of this invention, which is a pressure regulating valve system 1300 for maintaining a pressure balance in a multiple-outlet high-pressure water jetting system. In such systems, there will be multiple water jetting guns that are operated independently. Thus, the water pressure can fluctuate violently in the system unless there is a suitable pressure regulating valve. For example, if there are four shutoff guns in a water jetting system, the pump must supply a sufficient amount of water to feed to all four guns in operations at a predetermined pressure. If one gun is closed, the regulating valve must release a certain amount of water to avoid over pressurization. If all four guns are closed, the regulating valve must let go of or discharge all of the water from the pump. Because the water jetting guns are operated at random the regulating valve must be able to meet the demand. One solution to this problem is to employ the regulating valve assembly 1300 of this invention. The valve assembly 1300 has multiple regulating valves mounted on a common valve body 1301. The multiple actuators 1330 can have the springs 1336 set at a same spring rate or at different spring rates. The nozzle cones 1321 can have orifices matching, such as used in jetting guns or can be sized according to some other formula. By using a multiple pressure regulating valve of this invention, the valve assembly 1300 can meet the demand of conventional multiple-gun water jetting systems.

Example I

A high-pressure on-off valve assembly was constructed according to the valve assembly 200 of this invention. This valve assembly comprised an air actuator part and a valve cylinder part locked together by a coupler and a locking collar, as shown in FIG. 7. The actuator cylinder, made of stainless steel, was 2.200 inches long, 1.250 inches in diameter, and had a 0.875-inch-diameter central cavity. The actuator piston, also made of stainless steel, was 0.875 inches in diameter and had an attached piston rod of 0.125 inches in diameter. The actuator piston was fitted with a diametrical O-ring seal. The actuator spring was a medium-duty die spring of 0.750 inches in diameter and 1.250 inches in length with a spring rate of 80 pounds at 0.31 inches compression. This spring was placed inside the actuator cylinder abutting the actuator piston on one end and the actuator end cap on the other end. The end cap was threaded into the actuator cylinder to compress the spring to 1.100 inches in length to produce a force of about 40 pounds. The actuator piston rod thus extended out of the actuator cavity. The coupler, made of stainless steel, was threaded into the actuator cylinder with the locking collar attached. The coupler had a locking shoulder of 0.800 inches in diameter and engaged a collar made of a 1.250 inch stainless-steel hexagon bar. The O-ring seal was provided to accommodate the piston rod. The actuator cylinder had a side fluid inlet that was fitted with a quick-connect nipple.

The valve cylinder, made of hardened stainless steel, was 1.250 inches in diameter, 3.600 inches in length, and had an actuator end machined with external threads to engage the locking collar and an outlet end machined with internal threads to accept an outlet adapter. The valve cylinder had a central cavity of 0.375 inches in diameter and 2.450 inches in depth measured from the actuator end. This central cavity had a tapered outlet hole of 0.094 inches in diameter leading to the threaded outlet adapter cavity. The central cavity also had a side fluid inlet fitted with an inlet adapter to accommodate a hose or tube fitting. This valve cartridge was 2.600 inches long, 0.375 inches in diameter, and was made with stainless steel except for the seals. The valve cartridge case was made of two parts, a cartridge cylinder and an end plug. The cartridge cylinder had a central cavity of 0.250 inches in diameter and a side fluid inlet of 0.094 inches in diameter. This cartridge cylinder has a straight open end to mate with the end plug and had a tapered outlet end to mate with the outlet end of the valve cylinder. This central cavity accommodated a valve poppet with a 3-part construction, which had a shoulder of 0.250 inches in diameter and an outlet end of 0.188 inches in diameter, and was 1.0 inch long. The outlet end of the valve poppet had a compression spring of 0.750 inches in length and was compressed to urge the valve poppet away from the outlet. This valve poppet had a through fluid passage of 0.047 inches in diameter that was interrupted by a ball check valve of 0.078 inches in diameter, which allowed one-way fluid flow to the outlet. The tapered end of this valve poppet was designed to mate with the tapered outlet end of the valve cartridge to form a fluid tight seal. The valve poppet, although snugly fitted inside the cartridge cavity, was free to slide for a distance of about 0.100 inches. The end plug of valve cartridge also had a central cavity and a through hole to accommodate a centrally positioned valve actuating pin, a pin seal, a pin seal backup bushing, and a pin extension. One end of this end plug was cemented or adhered to the valve cylinder and the other end was flat and abutted the actuator coupler when assembled. This flat end of valve cartridge end plug had screwdriver slots to facilitate removal of the valve cartridge from the valve cylinder. The valve actuating pin had a diameter of 0.032 inches and a length of 0.85 inches, and was made of a relatively hard stainless steel. This valve actuating pin was locked inside the valve cartridge by the pin extension, which had one end extended outside the valve cartridge to engage the actuator piston rod when assembled. When assembled, the valve cartridge actuating pin extension had a length of about 0.200 inches outside the valve cartridge. The pin extension had a diameter of 0.094 inches. Pushing this pin extension into the valve cartridge would force the valve actuating pin to move the valve poppet toward the outlet and close the valve.

In assembled form, the valve coupler was forced to abut the flat end of the valve cartridge by the threaded locking collar. Thus, the actuator piston rod forced the actuating pin to move the valve poppet to close the outlet port. This spring force was about 40 pounds. This spring force was adequate for this valve assembly to operate at a water pressure up to 45,000 psi. To open this valve would require compressed air of about 75 psi.

Testing this valve with water at a pressure of 3,500 psi showed the expected performance. The response of this valve was fast and clean. There was no hesitation despite the relatively low water pressure. Movement of the valve poppet of this valve was a function of the fluid pressure, which determines the fluid force acting on the valve poppet. The higher the fluid pressure, the greater is the fluid force in seating the valve poppet and in opening the valve outlet. This force is relatively powerful at high water pressures and yet very gentle. There was absolutely no impact between valve parts.

Example II

A hand-operated on-off valve was constructed according to the valve assembly 700 of this invention. This valve assembly was in the form of a dump gun commonly employed in conventional water jetting operations, as shown in FIG. 15. This dump gun comprised two major parts, the valve body assembly and the actuator assembly. The valve body assembly comprised a rectangular stainless-steel valve body 4 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick, and a stainless-steel water inlet tube of 0.563 inches in diameter, 7 inches in length, and had threaded ends to engage the valve body and an inlet adapter. A valve cartridge was designed as shown in FIG. 9. A threaded-on short stainless-steel dump tube had an open end. A threaded-on 4 feet long stainless-steel main tube had an end nozzle.

The actuator assembly comprised an aluminum-alloy actuator housing 1 inch thick, 2.5 inches wide, and 2 inches long. A stainless-steel pivoted trigger lever was 0.5 inches in diameter and 6.5 inches long. A stainless-steel actuating piston was 0.5 inches in diameter with a piston rod of 0.125 inches in diameter and an overall length of 1.2 inches. A piston return spring was 0.5 inches in diameter and 1 inch in length. An aluminum-alloy handle was 7.5 inches in length and ⅞ inches in diameter. There was also a stainless-steel inlet adapter, a stainless-steel trigger guard, and assorted stainless-steel mounting bolts.

The valve cartridge was 0.5 inches in diameter, 2.6 inches in length, and had tapered ends, as shown in FIG. 9. The design of this valve cartridge was similar to that used in Example I except that it had greater dimensions but an absence of the outside seal assembly. The valve actuating pin was identical, 0.032 inches in diameter and 0.85 inches in length. When this valve cartridge was assembled inside the valve body, the ends formed a fluid-tight seal with the valve body on the actuator end and with a dump port adapter at the outlet end. The dump port adapter had a diametrical seal assembly on one end and a threaded cavity on the other end to accommodate the dump tube. The valve cartridge had its actuating pin extension exposed and positioned to engage the piston rod of the actuator assembly. There was also a main tube adapter threaded into the valve body on one end and engaged a main tube on the other end. Both tubes were 0.563 inches in diameter. The valve body had fluid passages connecting the inlet to the main-tube adapter and to the cartridge cavity.

When assembled, the trigger lever was at a loose position and both outlet tubes were open to the inlet. When pressurized water flowed into the valve assembly, it flowed out of both tubes without much force because of the relatively large opening of the dump port. However, when the trigger lever was pulled toward the handle by hand, the actuating piston was pushed toward the valve body and the piston rod in turn pushed the valve actuating pin inside the valve cartridge to push the valve poppet to close the outlet. As a result, the dump port was closed and the water pressure inside the valve cavity rose quickly, and a high-speed waterjet was issued at the nozzle. The water jetting continued as long as the trigger lever was held by hand. The hand force required to hold the trigger lever was minimal, estimated at not more than 2 pounds at a water pressure of 40,000 psi. This hand force is considerably smaller than that required by any dump guns in use today, thus eliminating the hand fatigue problem.

Testing this dump gun at a water pressure of 3,500 psi showed that this dump gun performed flawlessly. A similar result can be expected with a dump gun according to this invention, even at much higher water pressures.

While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of this invention. 

1. An on-off valve operable between an open position and a closed position, the on-off valve comprising: a valve body having a cylindrical valve cavity, a first inlet, a first outlet, a first chamber and a second chamber, in the open position said first inlet in communication with said first outlet; a cylindrical valve cartridge sealably mounted within said second chamber of said valve cavity, said valve cartridge having a central cavity facing said valve cavity and a bore forming communication between said central cavity and an atmosphere external to said valve cartridge, a pin extension movably mounted within said bore, a pin bushing and a pin seal mounted within said central cavity, an actuating pin movably mounted at least partially within said central cavity and passing through said pin bushing and said pin seal, said actuating pin having a first end abutting said pin extension and a second end positionable within said central cavity, said pin extension having an end movably mounted within said bore; a cylindrical valve poppet slidably mounted within said valve cavity and having a first end portion at least partially positioned within said first chamber of said valve cavity and a second end portion at least partially positioned within said second chamber of said valve cavity, said valve poppet having a passage extending from said first end portion to said second end portion, in the closed position said first end portion of said valve poppet closing said first outlet, in the open position said first end portion of said valve poppet opening said first outlet, said actuating pin moveable to be sealably mounted within said second end portion of said valve poppet; a bias element mounted to exert a bias force to and urge said valve poppet against said valve cartridge; and an actuator mounted with respect to said valve body, and said actuator operating said actuating pin between the open position and the closed position.
 2. A valve body having two inline cylindrical cavities connected by a central bore, a first chamber having a first inlet and a first outlet, and a second chamber having a bleed bore in communication with an atmosphere external to said valve body; a valve cartridge sealably mounted in said second chamber of said valve cavity and having a cartridge cavity facing said valve cavity and a bore forming communication with said atmosphere, said cartridge cavity housing a centrally and slidably mounted actuating rod, a rod seal, and a rod bushing, said actuating rod having a first rod end within said valve cavity and a second rod end extending to said atmosphere through said bore of said valve cartridge; a valve poppet slidably mounted within said valve cavity through said central bore with a first end portion positioned within said first chamber and a second end portion positioned within said second chamber facing said cartridge cavity, said valve poppet movable between a first position in which said first end portion of said valve poppet closing said first outlet and a second position in which said valve poppet abuts said cartridge cavity, said valve poppet having a center shuttle cavity housing a slidably mounted shuttle, a shuttle biasing element, and a shuttle seal, said shuttle having a first shuttle end, a middle shoulder and a second shuttle end, and a passage extending from the said first shuttle end to said second shuttle end, said first shuttle end of said shuttle extending to outside of said second end portion of said valve poppet, said second shuttle end of said shuttle communicating with said shuttle seal inside said shuttle cavity of said valve poppet, said shuttle biasing element urging said shuttle shoulder toward said second end portion of said valve poppet, said shuttle cavity having a bleed hole leading to a shuttle exterior of said shuttle, a check valve positioned inside said first end portion of said valve poppet and communicating with said shuttle central passage and said shuttle exterior allowing fluid passage only from said shuttle central passage to said shuttle exterior; a seal bushing assembly mounted with respect to said first chamber of said valve cavity and having a central bore accommodating said first end portion of said valve poppet; a spacer bias element urging said seal bushing assembly toward said second chamber of said valve cavity; and an actuator mounted with respect to said valve body, and said actuator operating said actuating rod between said open position and said closed position.
 3. The on-off valve of claim 1 wherein said valve poppet has a monolithic body with a centrally positioned said passage.
 4. The on-off valve of claim 1 wherein said second end portion of said valve poppet is larger than said first end portion, and said valve poppet comprises a ball check valve mounted with respect to said valve poppet to allow fluid to flow through said passage only from said second end portion to said first end portion.
 5. The on-off valve of claim 3 wherein the said valve poppet and said valve cartridge are separate elements.
 6. The on-off valve of claim 3 wherein said valve poppet and said valve cartridge are integrated to form a sealed valve cartridge that solely occupies said valve cavity, said sealed valve cartridge has a first outlet end and a second actuator end, said first outlet end of said sealed cartridge communicates with said first outlet of said on-off valve, and said second end of said sealed valve cartridge communicates with said actuator of said valve.
 7. The on-off valve of claim 6 wherein said sealed valve cartridge has a conical first end communicating with a tapered said valve outlet and a flat second end communicating with said actuator, and said flat second end of said valve cartridge has a diametrical seal assembly to seal off said valve cavity from an exterior.
 8. The on-off valve of claim 6 wherein said sealed valve cartridge has a conical first end communicating with a tapered said valve outlet and a conical second end communicating with said actuator through a tapered said second chamber of said valve cavity.
 9. The on-off valve of claim 5 wherein said actuating pin has a diameter of less than 0.065 inches and has a flat first end and a sharp second end.
 10. The on-off valve of claim 7 wherein said actuating pin has two or more diameters of less than 0.065 inches.
 11. The on-off valve of claim 2 wherein said valve cartridge and said valve poppet are separate parts.
 12. The on-off valve of claim 2 wherein said valve cartridge and said valve poppet are integrated to form a sealed valve cartridge having a conical first outlet end and a flat second actuator end, said sealed valve cartridge solely occupies said valve cavity of said on-off valve, and said flat second actuator end of said sealed valve cartridge has a diametrical seal assembly to seal off said second chamber of said valve cavity of said on-off valve.
 13. The on-off valve of claim 2 wherein said valve cartridge and said valve poppet are integrated to form a sealed valve cartridge having a conical first outlet end communicating with a tapered said valve outlet of said valve cavity and a conical second actuator end communicating with said actuator, and said sealed valve cartridge solely occupying said valve cavity.
 14. The on-off valve of claim 13 wherein said shuttle has two or more diameters.
 15. The on-off valve of claim 14 wherein a first shuttle end of said shuttle communicates with said first end of said actuating rod, a shuttle diameter of said first shuttle end of said shuttle corresponds to a rod diameter of said first end of said actuating rod, said passage of said first end of said shuttle forming a seal by said first end of said actuating rod when said valve is closed, said seal positioned about an entire circumference of said first shuttle end of said shuttle, and said first rod end of said actuating rod has an enlarged head to form said seal.
 16. The on-off valve of claim 13 wherein an actuator is attached to said on-off valve, said actuator comprises a cylinder, a cylinder cap, a compression spring, a piston with a diametrical seal, a piston rod, an air inlet, a coupler, and a locking collar, said compression spring positioned between said cylinder cap and said piston, said coupler attached to said cylinder and maintaining said locking collar in a middle, and said locking collar attached to said valve body with said coupler abutting said valve cartridge or said valve body.
 17. The on-off valve of claim 16 wherein said compression spring urges said piston to push down said piston rod, and said piston rod urges said actuating pin of said valve body to move into said valve body to close said valve.
 18. The on-off valve of claim 17 wherein said compression spring is designed and compressed to produce a selected force transferred to move said on-off valve into said closed position and form a force equilibrium between said spring force and a fluid force inside said on-off valve to keep said on-off valve in said closed position.
 19. The on-off valve of claim 18 wherein said on-off valve is moved into said open position by disrupting said force equilibrium between said spring force and said fluid force inside said on-off valve using compressed air sent into said actuator to lift said piston.
 20. The on-off valve of claim 18 wherein said on-off valve is moved into said open position by disrupting said force equilibrium between said spring force and said fluid force inside said on-off valve caused by a sudden rise of said fluid pressure.
 21. The on-off valve of claim 5 wherein said valve body is attached to an actuator assembly comprising an actuator body, a pivotally mounted trigger lever, a bias spring, a spring piston, a piston rod, a grip handle, a trigger guard, a fluid inlet tube, an inlet adapter, and at least one outlet adapter, and said actuator body having a spring cavity to accommodate said bias spring and said spring piston and to provide a necessary force to counter a hand force produced through said pivotally mounted trigger lever.
 22. The on-off valve of claim 21 wherein said valve body has two outlet tubes including a dump tube in communication with said valve cartridge, said actuator body is attached to said valve body so that pulling said pivotally mounted trigger lever toward said grip handle produces a pushing force against said actuating pin or actuating rod of said valve cartridge and causes said dump port of said on-off valve to close, and releasing said hand grip on said pivotally mounted trigger lever and said bias spring returning said valve cartridge to said open position.
 23. The on-off valve of claim 21 wherein said valve body has only one outlet tube and said valve actuator has a bias spring urging said spring piston and said piston rod against said valve cartridge within said valve body to keep said on-off valve in said closed position, and moving said pivotally mounted trigger lever toward said grip handle compresses said bias spring and releases said force on said valve cartridge and moves said on-off valve to said open position.
 24. The on-off valve assembly of claim 16 wherein said actuator spring is compressible by a hand-operated cam assembly of said actuator to change a status of said valve.
 25. The on-off valve assembly of claim 24 wherein said cam assembly is attached to said actuator to provide a force to compress said actuator spring from below said spring piston so that a hand force pulling said cam lever moves said on-off valve to said open position.
 26. The on-off valve assembly of claim 24 wherein the said cam assembly is mounted on a top of said cylinder of said actuator to compress said actuator spring from said top so that a hand force pulling said cam lever moves said on-off valve to said closed position.
 27. The on-off valve assembly of claim 24 wherein an electrical solenoid is mounted on top of said actuator and is used with a cantilever device or a hydraulic pressure intensification device to produce a sufficient force to counter said spring force from said actuator to change a status of said on-off valve.
 28. The on-off valve assembly of claim 18 wherein at least one of said valve assemblies is mounted on a common manifold in communication with a pump applicator system to maintain a system pressure at a desired level, and said valve assemblies have actuators adjusted to a desired spring force to maintain said on-off valves closed at a desired pressure level and an over pressurization of said system pressure resulting in releasing a predetermined amount of fluid from said valves by incorporating precise orifice nozzles in said valves.
 29. The on-off valve assembly of claim 1 wherein said first inlet is positioned at a side of said valve body.
 30. The on-off valve assembly of claim 1 wherein a second end portion of said valve poppet abuts said valve cartridge assembly. 